Final post on where things stand. Sold the Bryston. I found it to be of very high quality, but, I did not find the int. amp to be all that musical/magical, especially considering the $$$. (I probably never found the right combination.) Found a mint/flawless used pair of Snell E/III's in walnut and I'm totally satisfied. I've liked Snell's for many years (have the J/IV's in another system) and these are keepers for life. The JM Labs 707 were sold as well. I'm using a small Jolida 102b int. amp w/ the Snell E/III's and they sound very nice together. The Jolida's input tubes (2)-12AT-7's/(1)12-AX-7 were replaced w/ Telefunken's and the stock power cord was replaced w/ one of Ernie's (Subaruguru)Belden PC. Huge improvement. The Snell's even sound excellent w/the Marantz PM-57 int. amp. I bought used recently. One last change, the spk. wires were changed from the Kimber 8TC to Cardas Quadlink 5-C's. Another major improvement. Thanks for all your comments. Bill |
Second the Maggie 1.6..hard to surpass at this or any level...with the Bryston and a REL sub...hello! |
Just wanted to follow-up and let you know where things stand. I was using very ineffecient loudspeakers w/my Bryson B-60r and I was not pleased. I was thinking that the amp was not musical enough for my tastes. I always wanted to try tubes so I went ahead and bought an EL-84 based Jolida Jd-102b int. amp. For $580 what a wonderful amp. My dealer recommended a give a listen to JM Lab Chorus 707 spkrs. which are 91.5db sensitive. He ordered a pair and I auditioned in my system for a week without any pressure to buy if I didn't like. Sounded very nice w/the Jolida. Decided to buy. Boxed up the Bryston and was deciding to sell or keep. Being curious, tried the Bryston out w/the JM
Lab 707. Wow! Sounded absolutely great. Better bottom end and the midrange was smoother compared to the Jolida. (To be fair the Jolida probably is not fully broken and stock tubes haven't been upgraded.) What a fine combination, the Bryston/JM Lab Chorus 707. Don't feel I need to upgrade for a while. Kimber 8TC bi-wired bare wire is being used as spk wire. Funny, the Bryston is running much cooler now and it sounds very fine indeed. I'll most likely upgrade in the future and buy spks. at a higher level than what I was planning on now, but, that's down the road. In the mean time will buy more records/CD's and relax listening to music. Thank-you all for your insightful comments. Appreciate it very much. Happy Holidays! Bill |
I have similar components as you; B60 & Cal icon mk2. I'm using B&W matrix 803 s2 bought used here for $1250 with MIT t2 biwire cables and I'm very happy with the sound. Very sweet sounding IMHO.
|
Thank-you once again for all your sound advise. I've reached the point where I'm focusing in the direction I'll
be heading. As far as speakers, the choices are Spendor 2/3,
1/2e, Theil .5(Up for auction at the moment), Vienna Acoustics Bach. I believe a warm sounding speaker is needed to match-up with the Bryston. I agree with Karls that high impedance/sensitivity are req. I also feel that Maggies would not be the best match with this int. amp. (I tried out
a pair of MMG's a few years back and if memory serves me well they were somewhat power hungry. Fine loudspeakers though they did not suit my tastes. Finally settled for B&W
DM 640's.) Charles, I agree that the Vandersteen 1C/2Ce would be a good match. I'm hoping to match the decor of my
oak stereo/tv stand and therefor the speaker finish is important. One final thought, I've not ruled out the possibility that the Bryston will no longer be in the equation. I might just trade-in towards a pair of Spendor
1/2e's and use an inexpensive 50w NAD 320 BEE int. amp for the time being till I find a really great amp to drive them.
As I mentioned earlier, there is an auction for the Thiel .5
which I might bid on. Its very difficult deciding without having the opportunity for an in-home trial. Hopefully I'll
be able to raise a few funds with my ads in Audiogon to make
this all possible. Once Again... Thanks. Bill |
I would definitely check out the PMC line of loudspeakers. These are designed to mate specifically with Bryston electronics. |
I used to have a Bryston 2B-LP (the origin of the B-60's amp section) and BR.5 preamp mated to a pair of Meadowlark Kestrels. Musically very nice but not the last word in dynamics. I often like to turn my system up when listening and the Meadowlarks just couldn't go loud with the 2B. Also, Kestrels are time & phase coherent. I noticed a distinct decrease in sound quality when I stood up in my room. I didn't feel the speakers had a small sweet spot but they sound much better when sitting.
The good news is they are unobtrusive and quite nice looking. They do a beautiful job with vocals and image with the best of them. If you aren't looking for loud, I think it Kestrels are a good choice.
I can not sure about the Magnepan MMG's. Don't assume I don't like them (see my audiogon review) but I don't think the B-60 is strong enough to power them. I found them able to clip my Bryston 4B NRB and the Soundstage reviewer noted the same power thirsty traits. That and they are big. I guess you can try them and send them back if you don't like them. I think the 1.6's would be even worse but I can't say with certainty.
The Vandy 2xx's would be worth looking at. The first time I heard a B-60 was with a pair of 2's. It seemed to have sufficient power. |
I listened to a lot of speakers (B&W, castle, monitor audio, morel usa, paradigm, psb, revel, thiel, totem, triangle, etc.)with my B-60 before settling on the Meadowlark Swift. I did not hear each of these in my room and carried my amp to a number of shops that were kind enough to let me plug-in and listen.
There are lots of good speakers out there right now, but the Swifts were my favorite match with the B-60, even though they were less than half what I was prepared (and expected) to spend. Enjoy the search and let us know what you end up buying. |
Kotta:
With the Bryston B-60 Integrated Amplifier (60 WPC), I think you have the foundation of what could be the ultimate "entry-level" high-end system. But with Brystons tending to be bright sounding amplifiers, I cannot help but think that with your amplifier, and cathedral ceilings, a warm sounding speaker system with a relatively high impedence would be the better solution for you. Particulary for your system, I would suggest something like the Vandersteen 1C and then augment them with a nice sub later on (and for the sake of synergy, I would go with a Vandersteen sub as well). I would suggest the Vandersteen 2Ce as well. But with the additional drivers that the 2Ce have, as well as a trickier impedence, I don't think that they'll mate as well with the B-60. The Vandersteen 2Ce has a nice, warm and inviting sound to them, with an honest sounding midrange, a forgiving top end, and a deep and extended bass response (can stand on its own without any help from a sub........ though, a sub would be nice to use with the 2Ce as well). But to get that kind of sound out of the 2Ce's with your cathedral ceilings taken into consideration as well, the 2Ce's may require a bit more power than the B-60 is able to deliver. To rectify that situation then, what I would do is hold on to your B-60, use it both, as a preamp and a power amp to drive the midrange and top end of the 2Ce's, and later on, when funds are available, go out and mate your B-60 with a 3B SST (with about 150 WPC...... they would give the 2Ce's everything they can handle), and tie them together with cables from Cardas or MIT.
Good Luck and Regards........
--Charles-- |
I've read and have heard that the B-60 mates very well with maggie mmg's all the way up to around the 1.6's. You might want to post this same question over on audioasylum under planar forum or speaker forum and see what they say. Good luck and keep us posted! |
With that kind of budget I can't help if wonder if you would be better off selling the Bryston (no offense to the Bryston intended) and starting from scratch. |
BUY THE MAGGIE 1.6 AND GOOD CABLES TO THEM...NO BRAINER |
Bryston / Thiel coild be too bright. My vote would be for Spendors. |
I have owned a B60P for about 2 1/2 years now. Originally I had Spendor SP2 speakers and the sound was terrific. I moved to a larger room and then purchased PMC FB-1 speakers. They are distributed by Bryston in the the USA and work well together. They can handle 150 WPC and can play loud with 90db sensitivity. I then purchased a Bryston 3B-ST power amp and bi-wired them with Synergistic Research Signature 2 cables and now use the B60 as the preamp, which is the same as the BP-20 preamp. Either speaker works well. |
Thank-you for all your responses. I was hoping to spend in the +/- $1500 for speakers and upgrade my speaker cables.
The other components of my modest system I'm pleased with.
(Creek Tuner, Cal Icon Mk2, MMF-5 tt, VDH interconnects.)
I was planning on auditioning the Thiel 1.6 in the near future. I've spoke with Thiel about the .5 and the the 1.6
and they seemed very enthusiast about 1.6. I sensed they felt the 1.6 would be a better match w/the Bryston. Unfortunately there are no nearby dealers for the Snell, so
I'm not sure how I could audition their speakers. (I have an older Snell J-4 hooked up at my mother's house which sounds glorious with Jolida hybrid/int. amp. Her family room is much better acoustically than my listening room. The same
system in my house doesn't sound nearly as good! There is a nearby dealer which has the Spendor line. I'll let you know how things develop. Once again Thanks, Bill. |
Agree the Thiel CS1.6 would much exceed the .5, and it still fits your budget, also 92+dB sensitive to boot. The similarly-priced Vandersteens, Energys, Meadowlarks, Paradigms, B&Ws, JM Labs, Triangles, etc. could all be worth a listen (haven't heard any I can remember with the B-60, though)...the list goes on, I'm sure. It'd be easy enough to tuck the B-60 under your arm and hit the dealer showrooms for some auditions, no? |
I used Soliloquy 5.0's to great effect. I'd get a used pair and a sub. Make sure to get the stands -- they are essential.
I only got rid of them because I moved and they were heavy.
I'm going to get a pair of older Spendors for a small room next.
Still love the B60.
I agree with Sugarbrie that 1200-1800 plus good cables is a better way to go.
Finally, have you heard the new Thiel 1.6? It's a giant killer and a great match with the B60. |
I agree with Karls i.e. higher impedance speakers that are relatively sensitive. Sean
> |
Look into the Meadowlarks. Whatever you pick, try to keep the impedance and sensitivity relatively high. |
The Bryston is a very nice amp in its class. I feed however that a good pair of $2500 speakers will outclass the Bryston. So in my opinion for new speakers, look for something in the $1200 to $1800 range and spend the rest on some good cables and more music. The only ones I have experience with in this price range is the B&W CDM-NT Series. |
Have you tried out the Proac Response 1.5 ? Looks like you are limited to some efficient designs due to the 60 watts power of the B60 and that you have a catheral ceiling! |
